Lakers Veteran Delivers Stern Message: ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’

The Los Angeles Lakers finished the 2019-20 NBA season as the 21^st best 3-point shooting team in the league. Players were shooting 34.9% and something changed in the offseason. The Lakers are now shooting 39.6% from beyond the arc. In other words, they are the sixth-best in the league. Lakers veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has seen an improvement.

KCP is shooting 55% from deep. This number may not be that great, but the veteran plays at a high level. According to Lakers big man Anthony Davis ranked Caldwell-Pope as No.1 shooter on the Lakers roster.

“Numbers don’t lie,” KCP said of his three-pointers. “But I’m really enjoying LeBron shooting the ball. He’s shooting it at a tremendous clip. He’s knocking them down and it’s fun seeing him have [success] shooting the ball as well. But we all know, I’m the real shooter for sure.”

Caldwell-Pope has been on a roll since the finals. The front office gave him a lot of money in the offseason, and it was a good move.

LeBron James disagrees with the Lakers veteran

LeBron James is more than happy with the Lakers shooting ability.

“I mean, we got a lot of great shooters on the team, man. KCP is a great shooter,” he said. “Wes Matthews is a great shooter. [Kyle Kuzma] can shoot the heck out of the ball. Dennis the Menace [Schroder] can shoot the ball as well. AD can shoot the ball. We got a lot of great, knock-down shooters.”

But, the 16-time All-Star would gladly say he is the best shooter on the Lakers roster.

“If someone says ‘bet,’ then obviously you guys know I’m going to take myself. That’s just the competitive nature in me and the work ethic I put into my shot,” LeBron said. “I feel real good with my shot right now, both from the free-throw line and also from the 3-point line, and I want to continue that.

“It’s just continuing to give defenses different styles of my play. Playing pick-and-roll basketball, playing in the mid-range, playing in the post, getting out on the break where I’ve always been pretty good. Continuing to keep the defenses off balance will help our team.”

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel would sure have LeBron taking the shot over KCP. But, this doesn’t change the fact that KCP is an excellent shooter.

The Lakers defense looks really great now, and LeBron plays like an MPV candidate. His new teammates are trying to adjust to the system. But, there’s plenty of room for everyone to improve, including the king of basketball himself.